But if Carrick does come back in, that would take up another midfield position. So where does that leave Marouane Fellaini or young gun Marcus Rashford for a striker’s spot?

And, crucially, where does that leave skipper Wayne Rooney, who endured another disappointing night at Sixfields.

On the bench, probably — certainly if the fans had their way.

A poll in the Red Issue Sanctuary this week showed more than 99 per cent believe the time is right to take Rooney out of the firing line.

The England captain fears the worst after being selected to start in midweek when Mourinho made nine changes. Either he wanted to try to boost Rooney’s confidence by letting him fill his boots against the Cobblers — or he is planning to axe him.

Rooney, 30, was left out of the trip to Feyenoord last week so he could have a rest.

When asked before the EFL Cup tie what he wanted from his skipper, the Special One’s answer was simple: “Goals”.

He did not get them against Robert Page’s men — and looked a long way off his best despite helping his team into the last 16.

And while ex-United midfielder Paul Ince believes Mourinho should stick with Roo, he admits there are pressing issues.

Ince told the Paddy Power blog: “Clearly they’re not playing well and clearly Jose Mourinho doesn’t know his best team yet. United are missing that consistency and until you get a settled side you’re going to get mixed results.

“It’s not helping when across the road City are flying under Pep Guardiola. But talk of a crisis is ridiculous. Jose Mourinho is one of the greatest managers of all time and he will get it right.

"He just needs to take time to find out the best position of his players and the system that gets the best out of them. The problem is, when Mourinho does finally get it right City could already be far ahead of them in the league.”

Time is a complex commodity. Ask Albert! And if it’s goals he wants, Mourinho knows where he needs to turn to for them.

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Rashford, 18, added another goal to his collection and is rapidly becoming a player you cannot drop.

And although the old master Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 34, has not scored in his last three appearances, he does have five for the season. That is four more than Rooney has in eight appearances for club and country.

But what of Ander Herrera, who also impressed in the EFL win and settled United nerves by putting them back in front, while Carrick also gave a timely reminder of his qualities.

Many believe the long-serving midfielder would be the perfect foil for world-record buy Paul Pogba — someone who can sit deep and dictate play.

Somehow he needs to work out a way to get the best out of his £89million man — and Carrick could be that.

Yet the French star also fancies playing as a No 10 — which is another worry for Rooney.

With Mourinho also liking the physicality of Fellaini, it is easy to see why the skipper is fearing the worst.

Former United favourite Phil Neville said on Sky he believes Rooney will get the nod against the Foxes.

Ince, too, backed the England skipper, adding: “Everyone can jump the gun and say ‘drop Rooney’ because he’s a stand-out, high-profile player who isn’t performing. But if you drop him who do you play instead?

“There’s no one at United better than him as a No 10. Wayne shouldn’t be in midfield. End of. You’re talking about England’s greatest goalscorer and you’re wasting him in midfield.”

Yet Mourinho is fed up of people butting in — now he has three home games before the international break.

Leicester in the lunchtime kick-off tomorrow will be an early judgment day. Ince said: “If United want to get the critics off their back they must put in a huge performance.”

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